


Something is A-Miss With Merlin

by tinyrose65



Series: Miss Merlin [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: AU, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Genderbend, Genderswap, Post Magic Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2015-09-24
Packaged: 2018-04-20 23:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4805900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinyrose65/pseuds/tinyrose65
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Or What Happens When Merlin Tries To Adjust To Her New Role As Court Sorceress And The Knights Discover That Not All Nobles Have Noble Intentions</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which Merlin Makes A Wonderful Discovery

Merlin supposed that the whole mess all started the morning after her ceremony and the feast, since, even after finally achieving her dream of seeing magic free in Camelot, she apparently didn't get a break.

Merlin didn't remember much of the feast, to be honest, or the celebration going on the lower town, which Merlin and Gwaine snuck away to after a few hours. It was far more fun down there. Sorcerers from the outlying villages and those who had escaped Uther to the nearby kingdoms had all gathered to celebrate, and it was beautiful and wonderful and Merlin remembered grinning far too widely with Gwaine grinning back at her and the light feeling all over her- or was that because of the ale?- and then…

Well.

That was how she came to be in Gwaine's bed, currently huddled deep beneath the covers, head on his chest, and his arm thrown over her. When she woke up, her head slightly fuzzy, it took her a moment to remember where she was. Any embarrassment she should've felt was negated by how  _nice_ this all was. At least, it was until Arthur barged in, effectively shattering the moment and bringing back the embarrassment full force.

"Arthur!" Merlin squeaked. She pulled the covers up to cover herself as Arthur stopped in his tracks. "Haven't you heard of knocking?"

Arthur was stuttering badly. "I- the guards- Ah, I was told that you had come this way last night. I didn't realize you'd be- What I meant to say-"

"What'd you think we'd be doing in here, mate?" Gwaine spoke up, apparently awake, and not looking too pleased with the disturbance. "Braiding each other's hair?"

Ignoring Gwaine, who had sat up a bit behind her, and whose gaze Merlin could feel on her, she asked Arthur, pretending as best she could that everything was normal, "Did you need something, Arthur?"

"Yes," Arthur said, standing up straighter. "Guinevere is unwell."

"You couldn't get Gaius for that?" Gwaine grumbled, falling back onto the bed. Merlin rolled her eyes at him.

"Gaius is busy dealing with the multiple hangovers in the lower town. I simply thought Merlin would enjoy her first act as Court Sorceress," Arthur drawled. He was right. Merlin perked up and said, "I'll be there in a moment."

Arthur nodded. "Unfortunately, I have a meeting to attend. Apparently, some pigs got out last night during the celebrations and caused a bit of a mess between a few farmers. I'll need to sort the dispute out out. The queen is in her chambers."

With that, he left and closed the door. Merlin got up and began to search for her clothes, which were littered on the floor. Suddenly, she realized something: Gwaine was still there. To be exact, Gwaine was still there, and she was changing and he, if the events of last night were anything to go by, was  _watching_ her change.

Using her gown to cover herself, she turned to Gwaine, who, sure enough, was looking at her with more than just mild interest. "What are you  _doing?"_ she screeched, flushing from her nose to her toes (a fact which Gwaine could fully appreciate, considering Merlin's state of undress).  _"Don't look!"_

"There's nothing there that I didn't see last night," Gwaine said with a raised eyebrow and a small smirk on his face. He seemed to find the whole thing more amusing than anything else, although his smile was tinged with something softer. Affection, maybe, but stronger.

Merlin stuttered, "It was  _dark_ last night."

"Not that dark," Gwaine pointed out. Merlin glared at him and he sighed, turning the other way. In fact, he got up and began searching the floor on the other side of the bed for  _his_ clothes. Satisfied, Merlin shrugged on her gown from the night before.

It was there that she realized that she had a problem. With a resigned sigh, she called out, "Gwaine?"

"Aye?" He asked, slipping into his breeches.

"Can you help me with the back of this dress?" Merlin asked. She heard him chuckle and walk over behind her. "Oh, shush!"

At this, he laughed outright and began to do up the ties with plenty of ease. She tried to pretend that she  _didn't_ know how he'd gotten so good at that. Instead, she instructed, "Don't worry yourself too much about it. I'm going to go back to my chambers to change."

"I thought you'd want to see straight to Gwen," Gwaine grunted, as he struggled a bit with a fastening.

"I have to go back to my chambers to get some supplies anyway," Merlin said with a thoughtful frown. Or, at least, what Gwaine guessed what was a thoughtful frown, since her back was turned to him at the moment. However, he'd spent enough time staring at Merlin's face to learn most of her expressions (although every now and again a new one popped up to surprise him). Merlin's thoughtful frown was tied for second place as his favorite Merlin-face, along with, well, every other one of her expressions, save two.

Merlin's sad face was last, obviously.

And her smile was one of his favorite things in the world. Period.

He thought back to the night before and decided that he might have to amend that list a bit.

Gwaine was so distracted by his musings that he was startled when, after he had finished, Merlin leaned up on her tip-toes to give him a quick kiss. "I'll see you later, alright?"

"Of course," Gwaine said, grinning a bit sillily.

Merlin smiled shyly and left, headed straight for her new chambers (given to her by Arthur, along with a lovely attached room next to them for her to conduct her Court Sorceress-y business), avoiding the knowing eyes of the servants and some of the knights. Merlin had been hesitant about leaving Gaius, but upon realizing that he could have his room back, she accepted Arthur's offer on the condition that the physician's quarters get some much needed renovations. Gaius would now sleep far more warmly in the winter on a new bed, perfect for his aching joints.

As for Merlin, right now, she didn't think she'd ever been happier to see the privacy of her room. It took her a moment upon entering and closing the door to realize that she actually  _wasn't_ alone and didn't have any privacy whatsoever. A woman- Merlin recognized her as a young servant from the kitchens named Millie- was waiting expectantly for her. On the bed, she had even taken the liberty of laying a dress out for her.

"Can I help you?" Merlin asked unsurely.

"The king assigned me to be your personal maidservant, m'lady," Millie said simply. "I came to help you get ready this morning.

"It's just Merlin, Millie. We've known each for years," Merlin said absently.  _Arthur_ had  _mentioned something to her about that,_ Merlin realized. Then she noticed something else: the dress Millie had placed on the bed was decidedly lovely (with a soft blue skirt, a red corset and delicate white sleeves), but decidedly not hers.

Merlin knew this because she only had two dresses, and this one was neither.

"That dress isn't mine."

Mille explained, "The queen had several dresses commissioned for you. You can pick one of the others if you don't like this one, but I thought it would be the most appropriate for your meetings later today."

She supposed she would have to think about things like that now that she had a position in court, although her first instinct was to shoo Millie out and go about her business as normal. She was halted by the realization that she knew next to nothing about holding a position in court, or what to wear, or what to do, or  _anything._

Merlin had known, on some level, at least, that she would be treated differently now, but she hadn't given it much thought. She was so used to no recognition that the thought of being given a title for her work was, well, rather silly to her. And she wasn't  _after_ a title. She meant what she'd said: she would gladly be Arthur's servant until the day she died.

But Arthur had been rather insistent, something about how she could serve him and Camelot far better if she was free to do it openly and had the resources she needed. Merlin still thought that he was taking things a bit far (giving her her own servant was absurd, since she'd been a servant herself not too long ago), but all that would have to wait for now.

If anything, it could wait until  _after_ all the visiting nobles had left, when she and Arthur would be free to yell at each other and argue about it to their hearts' content.

Except- she needed  _some_ semblance of normalcy (it was all too much) so she said hesitantly, "Actually, I think I'd like my normal clothes back."

Millie seemed taken aback, but then, as a good servant should, went about following her mistresses's orders and began to lay out the clothes Merlin had asked for.

"You seem to be taking this magic in Camelot thing very well," Merlin noted as she walked over to the screen in the corner of the room to change.

Millie blushed. "My older brother practiced magic. We were never allowed to talk about him. He went off to live in another kingdom once he was old enough, but now he gets to come home. I haven't seen him in almost ten years."

When Millie offered to help Merlin get her clothes  _on_ , Merlin stepped in.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Merlin waved Milly off. "I'll be faster on my own and I need to tend to the queen. Thank you, Millie, that's all for today."

"Oh," Millie said, surprised. "Are you sure, m'la- I mean, Merlin?"

"Of course," Merlin said with a frown. "I've been taking care of myself for years. Just because Arth- I mean, the prat- I mean, the  _king_  suddenly gave me a title doesn't mean I suddenly can't do things for myself. Besides, you need to prepare for your brother's arrival!"

Millie, speechless with happiness, gave a quick curtsey and hurried out the room.

After changing, Merlin went about gathering a few potions and herbs and putting them in her rucksack, realizing, rather belatedly that she hadn't asked Arthur for any details on Gwen's condition, which meant she now had no idea what Gwen'd be needing.

To be honest, Merlin wasn't even sure if Gwen  _was_ sick. Walking the corridors towards the chambers Gwen shared with Arthur, Merlin reflected that this would not be the first time Arthur had overreacted in regards to Gwen's health. He had once been convinced she had a deadly infection because she sneezed during council session.

(She hadn't.)

Merlin soon realized that Arthur, in this case, was not overreacting. Gwen looked  _awful,_ still in bed, sweating a fair amount, and a bucket of- actually, Merlin didn't want to look in there- next to her bed.

"Oh, Merlin," Gwen said, "I didn't want to trouble you, but Arthur insisted-"

"And a good thing he did," Merlin said gently, pulling up a chair to the side of Gwen's bed (gently nudging the bucket out of the way with her foot). "You don't look too well."

"It's my stomach," Gwen admitted. "It's been acting up all morning. I tried some tea, but I couldn't even keep that down."

Merlin looked at Gwen's bedside table to notice that her cup of tea was still mostly full. There was also an uneaten piece of bread on the saucer. Merlin frowned, cataloguing Gwen's symptoms and running through a list of possible causes. "Too much to drink last night?"

"No," Gwen said shaking her head. "Barely a drop. And not  _nearly_ as much as you," she added teasingly. Her smile, though, was a bit pathetic, and Merlin resolved to get Gwen better and smiling prettily again soon.

Merlin placed her hand on Gwen's brow. "You don't have a fever," Merlin noted, "So an infection is unlikely. A virus, maybe, or-"

She paused, remembering the most common cause of nausea in women who came to Gaius. "Gwen, have you been feeling at all strangely, lately? Maybe some mood swings, or an increase in appetite?"

Gwen frowned and shifted underneath the blankets. "Well, now that you mention it, yes, I suppose so. But I assumed it was stress. Learning how to be queen hasn't been easy."

"You're doing brilliantly," Merlin assured, although she had a feeling it came out a bit distractedly. Her mind was too busy putting all the clues together because, contrary to Arthur's opinion, it  _did_ actually do some thinking every now and again.

"How about," Merlin paused for a moment, unsure how to ask her best friend of so many years such a personal question, but then she realized that she was  _Court Sorceress_ now, and that she had to do her job (whatever that job might entail, although it apparently involved helping Gaius tend to the sick and injured of Camelot, which she didn't mind in the least) to the best of her ability, no matter how odd it may seem, "any soreness in your breasts?"

Despite her obvious embarrassment, Gwen didn't blush. Merlin made a note to get the queen a fresh pitcher of water- or, rather, get another servant to fetch one, since Merlin could do that now. Gwen was obviously dehydrated and she didn't want to leave the queen unattended while she looked so poorly.

"Now that you mention it," Gwen said hesitantly, "Yes. I assumed it was because my dresses have gotten a bit tighter recently- all of the feasts, you know- and I haven't had a chance to go to the seamstress."

"I don't think it's all the eating that's making you gain weight," Merlin denied. Gwen didn't look as though she understood, so Merlin held out her hand over Gwen's stomach. "Let me just check something."

Gwen nodded, completely trusting Merlin, and watched as Merlin performed magic for her for the first time. Her eyes glowed bright, molten gold, and a pale shimmer encircled her hand, which Merlin then placed on Gwen's abdomen. It felt strangely warm through the thin cotton of her nightclothes as it it slowly turned a delicate copper color.

Merlin, Gwen noticed, was grinning so widely it looked as though her face would fall off.

"What is it?" Gwen asked anxiously as Merlin removed her hand. She knew it couldn't be terrible since Merlin was grinning so widely, but she just felt so  _terrible_ and wanted to know why.

Merlin, for her part, couldn't help but let out a delighted laugh.

"Gwen," Merlin said happily, "I am happy to inform you that you're pregnant."

For a moment, it was as though Gwen's world stopped, and she managed to whisper only, "With a baby?"

"What else?" Merlin asked, bemused as she watched the news sink in.

"With  _Arthur's_ baby?"

"Well, I'd imagine so," Merlin said wide eyed. Gwen brought her hand to her brow and she rested her head back on the pillow, clearly too overcome to speak. Her smile and wet eyes told Merlin all she needed to know.

"Congratulations," Merlin said gently. "I can't think of two more worthy people."

Deciding to give Gwen a moment alone to accept the news, she patted the queen's hand and stood up. "Just give me a moment."

She headed towards the door and stuck her head out and called to a passing servant. "Meredith!"

"Yes, m'lady?"

"It's just Merlin," she corrected out of habit. Then she shook her head to clear it. "Right, I need you to bring a few things for the queen immediately- unless you're not too busy, then send somebody else with them, please." Merlin was terrible at this ordering thing. Then she realized she hadn't actually told Meredith what it was she wanted.

"Right: a pitcher of cold water and a glass, a pail filled with fresh water and a clean cloth, and stop by Gaius's to get a small satchel of dried lavender on the top shelf of the back cabinet. He'll know what I want, if he's there. Understood?"

Meredith bowed, ignoring Merlin's protests as she did so, and scurried off to do so. Merlin let out an annoyed huff. This  _position in court_ business was going to take some serious getting used to.

Merlin turned back to Gwen and walked back to the bed, admiring the smile on her queen's face. Gwen's joy was short lived, because suddenly she was leaning over the bed and reaching for the bucket, which Merlin had shoved away. Unable to hold back, she retched over Merlin's shoes, despite Merlin's best attempts to avoid it.

"Oh, Merlin!" she said, mortified, but unable to keep the joy from the earlier news completely out of her voice, either, "I am so sorry!"

"No harm done," Merlin denied, banishing the vomit away with a wave of her hand, thanking her lucky stars that Gaius had made sure she was well trained in dealing with the not so glamorous side of healing. "And, anyway, it's my fault. I should have given you something to steady your stomach the minute I walked in here. Gaius would be very disappointed."

"I doubt that, Merlin," Gwen tutted as Merlin rifled through her bag. She pulled out a small brown bottle and measured out a dose of a thin, yellow liquid and offered it to Gwen.

"It'll help with the nausea. Take one spoonful a day right before bed time, and half a spoonful during the day as needed. You shouldn't need more than two spoons total a day. If you do, let me know and I'll find something else for you."

"I'm sure it will do fine," Gwen assured her, taking the spoon that Merlin, in a rare moment of foresight, had thought to bring.

"Fair warning," Merlin said, before Gwen drank, "It will make you rather drowsy."

"Some rest is exactly what I need now," Gwen muttered. Merlin smiled as Gwen took her medicine.

Merlin got to work with making the room more comfortable. The air had grown stale, which wouldn't make Gwen feel  _any_ better, so Merlin went and opened the window a fraction, knowing that it was a cool morning, but that a light breeze would help matters considerably. She then drew the blinds shut to hide the light.

Merlin walked across the room and reached into Gwen's wardrobe to pull out some clean blankets from the back. She knew the fresh air would make Gwen a bit chilly and Gwen's current sheets had been soaked with sweat. Merlin cleaned the old ones with a quick burst of magic, before settling the new blankets on top. Gwen watched everything gratefully through her closing eyes.

"Oh, Merlin, thank you for all this," she muttered. Merlin ignored it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Merlin denied. "You're my first patient as Court Sorceress and I couldn't think of a better one- or a better way to start out my first day. Besides, you better get used to it. Once Arthur gets wind of your condition, he'll spoil you worse than I am now."

"I hope he doesn't treat me too differently," Gwen huffed, as a knock on the door, no doubt from Meredith, sounded.

Merlin chuckled as she went to answer it. "Don't worry. If he does, you send him to me and I'll straighten him out."

Opening the door, Merlin came face to face with Meredith, who held all the things Merlin had requested. "Thank you."

"Of course, m'lady," Meredith curtsied as Merlin took the things. Meredith placed the pail of water on the ground next to the door. "Is there anything else?"

"Um," Merlin thought. "Yes, actually! The king is currently in a meeting-"

"About the pigs, yes," Meredith acknowledged. Merlin blinked in surprise. She forgot how fast news traveled in Camelot.

"Yes, right. Well, can you go wait for him and, once he's done, let him know that Gwen- I mean, the queen- is fine and that he can visit her, if he'd like."

Meredith bowed (Merlin made a face), and left.

The pitcher was placed on the bedside table, where Merlin also placed the glass and filled it with water. She grabbed the pail and placed it next to Gwen's bed and dipped the cloth in the water. After checking that it wasn't too cold, she gently wiped her friend's brow, cleaning her off. Gwen seemed to know better than to try and thank her.

"There," Merlin said, satisfied. She pushed the pail aside- in case Arthur or whoever else came to visit Gwen should want to nurse her, which Merlin had no doubt they would- and made sure that the  _other_ bucket was within Gwen's grasp, although she doubted Gwen would need it anymore.

The medicine was already taking effect.

Merlin grabbed the satchel of dried lavender and hung it on one of the posts of Gwen's bed. "The scent of lavender will help with your stomach. And, when you wake up" (there was no doubt that Gwen was going to fall asleep) "the tea here will be nice and warm for you to try and take a few sips. The bread will help too, if you can manage to get something in your stomach later."

As Merlin spoke, she heated the tea up with a simple spell and sat back, pleased that Gwen now looked far better than she had when Merlin had first arrived.

"I know you don't want to hear it, but I'll say it anyway," Gwen said softly. "Thank you, Merlin."

"You're welcome," Merlin assured her, standing up and tip-toeing to the door. When she turned back, Gwen was already asleep. Putting out most of the candles, except for a few, with a flick of her hand, Merlin left the room and shut the door softly behind her.

When she turned around, she was faced with two, worried, guards.

"The queen is fine," Merlin announced, both to their relief. Gwen might've been worried about being queen, but the people loved her already. "She simply needs rest. Let nobody in there but myself, the Court Physician, her husband, or her brother."

She reconsidered. "Unless, of course, there is an emergency. But it better be a very good one."

"Understood, m'lady."

" _Merlin,_ " Merlin stressed. "It's just  _Mer_ lin."

With that, Merlin turned around and walked away, not letting them get a word in edgewise. The problem with dramatic exits, though, is that one didn't usually consider where one was going, and it took Merlin only a few seconds after turning a corner to realize that she had no idea what a Court Sorceress was supposed to do next.

In fact, what did Court Sorceresses even do  _at all?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! I know this is a bit late! Hopefully it was worth the wait :)


	2. In Which Sir Gwaine Is Not The Only One Who Notices How Lovely Merlin Is And Merlin Is Oblivious As Always

Merlin's problem of what to do next was solved by, oddly enough, Baron Humphrey, a visiting noble. She had seen him around Camelot before. He was not much older than her, and rather good looking, with dark blonde hair and startling green eyes. More than one woman in the castle had swooned at the sight of him.

The previous times Merlin had seen him around, he had been with his father. His father, from what Merlin remembered, had been a much older man and had recently passed away.

So when he approached from behind and called out to her ("Lady Merlin!"), Merlin jumped quite a bit, partially because she hadn't heard him coming, but also because he had called her lady, showing how little he knew her. Never mind that the clothes she had on looked nothing like those of the ladies at court.

Getting over her surprise, she said, "Baron Humphrey! Is there something I can do for you?"

"Indeed," the young baron said, getting closer to her, with an odd smile on his face that Merlin didn't really understand. "I was in search of the library. I don't suppose you can point me in the right direction?"

"I can- actually, I was headed that way myself." This was a complete lie on Merlin's end, but, really, what else did she have to do right now?

"Then may I be granted the honor of escorting you?" Humphrey asked, bowing low and extending a hand.

"Not sure how much of an honor it is," Merlin mumbled, but taking his arm nonetheless. As they walked, Merlin asked, "Are you in search of anything in particular?"

"I was looking for a book on magic," he said said, giving her a sidelong glance. Merlin returned it with a questioning look and a raised eyebrow.

"You don't have magic, though," Merlin said certainly, because, really, she could feel it, and Humphrey was as non-magic as they came.

"How can you be so certain?"

"Just a feeling," Merlin said breezily, diverting attention back to Humphrey. Years of living as a servant had made her quite adept at this skill, perhaps one of the reasons why she had managed to hide her magic for so long. It was quite useful since she managed to attract attention to herself sometimes without even trying.

"Considering the king's determination to bring magic back to Camelot, I thought I'd try and learn something of it. Understanding is the first step toward overcoming any fear," Humphrey said, as they entered the library.

(Merlin expected the librarian to stop her, but he didn't- he seemed to rise in his chair for a moment as they passed by, but then thought better of himself, and sat back down with a respectful nod- and she reevaluated Arthur's opinions on having a title to gain access to important resources.)

"That is very- thoughtful of you," Merlin said, suddenly stiff, since, whether the baron had meant it or not, his word 'fear' had struck a nerve with her. Merlin realized yet again what a long road she had ahead of her still.

"Can you recommend something?" the baron asked, sounding oddly polite.

Merlin considered it for a moment, and then remembered an old book on the history of the Old Religion. Despite his aversion to magic, Uther had decided on keeping this book on the off chance that Gaius ever need information from it. However, he'd had it locked away in the vaults. It had been brought back up earlier in the week.

She explained all this to Humphrey as she went in search of the book, fairly certain about where it was. Merlin was right, as it turned out, and found the book exactly where she thought it'd be, only several shelves too high for her to reach, regardless of her best attempts at jumping or stretching.

Before she could take a few steps back and summon it more easily with her magic, Humphrey was right behind her, pushing her a bit uncomfortably against the book shelf, and stretching, too, saying, "Let me help you-"

And that was how Sir Elyan found them.

It had been a bizarre few months of Elyan. Just as he'd gotten used to being a knight, his sister had to go off and marry the king, which put him in a very strange position in court. Then, the girl who he, and all his fellow knights (with the exception of Gwaine, for obvious reasons) looked at as a sister (a clumsy, excitable, wiser-than-she-seemed sister) turned out to be a sorceress.

To Merlin's credit, none of the knights had thought she was just a servant in a very, very long time. If ever. It was just to think that she was a sorceress- and an incredibly powerful one at that- was mind boggling. If Elyan was worried that Merlin's Merlin-ness was all an act, he was proven wrong only seconds after Arthur had announced to his closest men the repeal on the ban on magic: she had somehow managed to fall out her chair. Without moving in it.

And now, here she was, the day after her ceremony, one of the most lavish the kingdom had seen in years, wearing the same clothes as always and having trouble getting a book from a high shelf.

Whenever the knights usually found Merlin in such a position, they would laugh and give her a hand, or watch as she managed to get what she needed with the use of a stool or a table (and some magic, Elyan no doubt guessed).

The one thing that was different in the scene now was Baron Humphrey, and Elyan wasn't too sure if he liked that. The past few times Elyan had met the man, he wasn't impressed. Humphrey's father, when he was alive, had an eye for women, and had taken several wives. Judging from the tales Merlin and Gwen had told him of, his son was very similar, although they promised the knights that Humphrey had never taken notice of the two of them.

Until now, it would seem. Not that Elyan could blame him-after seeing Merlin in her gown last night, Elyan had admitted to himself that Gwaine was a very lucky man.

That didn't mean that he was happy about seeing Humphrey pressing Merlin against a bookshelf, with Merlin, in her typical fashion, none the wiser.

So, he cleared his throat. Merlin turned to him, a happy grin stretching across her face. Humphrey, meanwhile, jumped back guiltily, clutching the book he had taken from the shelf in front of him, like a shield.

You should be worried, Elyan thought satisfied, as he approached them. Humphrey might've had an inch or two on him in height, but Elyan was no doubt the better swordsman. And here, in Camelot, his place as a knight (not to mention brother to the queen) carried far more weight than Humphrey's title.

"What's going on here?" Elyan asked, hand going subtly to the hilt of his sword. Merlin either didn't notice or, more likely, ignored the tension.

"I was helping Baron Humphrey find a book," she announced. "He wanted to learn more about the Old Religion!"

Merlin wasn't too sure what was going on, but she saw Elyan's expression soften for a moment, and his lips twitched in amusement. "Well, good. He has his book. He should probably be going."

The obvious dismissal of Humphrey was a bit strange, and the man straightened indignantly and left, with Merlin feeling a bit like a numpty for not having a clue as to what was going on.

"What was that about?" she demanded of Elyan.

"I don't know what you mean," he shrugged. "I came to ask about Gwen. Arthur said she wasn't feeling well and that you went to examine her-"

"She's fine," Merlin interrupted, smiling, thinking of how Gwen was more than fine. "I gave her something to help her rest."

"I thought you said she was fine!" Elyan protested.

"She is!"

"Then why did you have to give her something?"

Merlin huffed. She wasn't adept at much in this life- magic being the exception- but after years of study under Gaius, arguably one of the best physicians Camelot had ever seen, she liked to think that her abilities as a healer were top-notch. She didn't appreciate having them questioned. "You can go see her if you like, although she might be sleeping. Don't you dare wake her up, if she is!"

Elyan nodded, eyes wide, suddenly confronted with an irate Merlin. Satisfied, she smiled toothily for only a moment, before it deflated. "Elyan?"

"Yes, Merlin?" he asked warily.

"What exactly am I supposed to do now?"

"I don't think I understand the question," Elyan said slowly. Merlin looked a bit embarrassed.

"It's just, what exactly am I supposed to do as Court Sorceress?"

Elyan's expression was cleared of any confusion. He said, "I assumed that's what the meetings this afternoon were for: to work out any logistics that remain surrounding your position, in addition to all those trade agreements."

Arthur had decided that since they had all the leaders of the Five Kingdoms under one roof, and drunk and happy, it would be the best time to work on renegotiating several trade alliances. Merlin knew there would be meetings going on in the next few days, but not this very afternoon.

"That prat," Merlin grumbled. Speaking up for Elyan to hear, "He never mentioned any meetings to me today!"

Merlin didn't give Elyan a chance to answer, just shaking her head in exasperation. "I suppose I better go, then. It was nice speaking to you, Elyan."

"You, too, Merlin," Elyan said, glad that Merlin's annoyance was no longer directed at him. "I'll- I'll just go check on my sister."

Merlin hummed noncommittally, no doubt distracted by thoughts of the impending doom- she meant meetings. Elyan did have the presence of mind to call her back for one thing as she walked away.

"Be careful around Baron Humphrey, will you, Merlin?"

Merlin looked at him quizzically, but then nodded slowly. "Yes, of course. Whatever you say."

By the time Merlin made it to the main council room, everybody was already there. Blushing as she entered, she made her way to the only available seat, save Arthur's, and that was to the king's right. On her right was Lord Robert. It wasn't until she sat down that she noticed that the king was missing. Merlin had a good idea of where he was, and wondered if she'd have to send for him or cancel the meeting or something when he entered, mumbling apologies. The massive smile on his face (and Merlin would swear until her dying day that there were remnants of tears in his eyes) made Merlin smile, too, and she thought her heart might burst with happiness for her friend when the smile was directed at her.

He sat down next to her and cleared his throat, trying to compose himself. It wouldn't do for him to be distracted during Merlin's first meeting. This was a large step for Camelot and for Merlin, and he knew that Merlin would be nervous. He remembered the first time he sat in on a council meeting, and how worried he had been, and there was far more at stake now than there had been then.

But Gwen was-

And he was going to be-

"Maybe you should start the meeting now, Arthur?" Merlin asked with a sly grin on her face.

Dampening down the irritation he felt at her for clearly wanting to torture him during this council session, he stood up and called the meeting to order.

Well, "order" was a strong word for it.

It was chaos.

All the nobles had their own ideas on what needed to be done about the new magic laws. Not to mention that there had been the issue of redrawing some of the trade-routes to incorporate the new alliances Arthur planned on building with magic friendly kingdoms.

Lord Robert, a quieter lord than most (perhaps because his lands were not so great) seemed particularly interested in what Merlin had to say. Arthur was worried about this, but then quickly cleared the thoughts from his mind. Robert must be interested solely in the trade agreements, he decided. His village had been suffering some setbacks due to trouble with bandits.

Arthur recalled that although the villages he oversaw were small, they had an ample water supply and access to major trading roads. Arthur came up with the following solution: turn Baron Robert's village into a sort of center for the new routes.

"You'd have to turn over a substantial amount of your land to the kingdom," Arthur warned. "It would allow us to legally patrol them whenever we needed without having to go through the channels of receiving your approval. The court's increased presence should keep bandits away."

"My village would prosper," Lord Robert noted, more to himself than to the king. He seemed satisfied with Arthur's plan. "The increased trading and traffic would help supplement the smaller amounts of money they make farming and crafting."

Arthur took this as approval and slowly but surely, the conversation turned back to what needed to be done about magic. There were some who were still grumbling about the new laws, but they didn't dare say too much with Merlin standing right there. The nobles were suggesting that all the wizards be called to Camelot and evaluated and registered.

Merlin shot this down. "They are people, not cattle!"

"What do you suggest we do, Merlin?" Arthur asked. He had to admit that as much as he trusted his good friend, there was a part of him that recognized the appeal of a registry of magic users, not so much for torture, as his father had used it, but instead as a way of knowing where they were should any trouble ever require a large amount of magic.

"We need schools," Merlin said finally. This was not what Arthur had been expecting.

"Enrollment at the schools will give us access to records of sorcerers without having to catalogue them. Not to mention that when your father banned magic," she explained, "he killed off many of the most learned sorcerers in the Five Kingdoms. The Old Religion was chased out. I was lucky: I had Gaius and the dragon and the Druids and others to help teach me, but a lot of sorcerers out there don't. They're trying to learn about magic on their own and that can be dangerous and corrupting. Just look at-"

Merlin stopped before she said the name. Arthur cleared his throat. "You said so yourself, Merlin. Many of the experts in the Old Religion have died or left Camelot. How do you propose we set up schools with no teachers?"

"We don't. At least, not right away." Merlin said. "It'll take some doing, but several magical kingdoms have universities for the study of magic. If we can work out an agreement with them, we can send sorcerers there for training while we work on building the schools over here. Then, we bring them back to teach the others in Camelot."

"What does that magic friendly kingdom get in return?" Arthur asked doubtfully.

Merlin just shrugged. "That's hardly my job to figure out. You're the king."

"Merlin!"

"This isn't my area of expertise!"

"You have an area of expertise, then?"

"Yes," Merlin said. "Putting-" Suddenly, both king and sorceress realized that they were in an official council meeting. "The magic friendly kingdoms have a vested interest in trading with Camelot. Tell them you'll bargain trading rights for letting our sorcerers attend their schools."

The council members, Arthur noticed, were looking at Merlin as though she were an entirely separate species. To them, he supposed, she was. She had magic, she was a woman, she was a commoner. Yet, here she was, talking to the king as though they were equals.

"Nice speech," Arthur scowled. "But can you guarantee it?"

Merlin frowned and looked thoughtful for a moment. Finally she said, "I'll send them a message of some sort. I have to start somewhere— Alator or some of the druids most likely have connections. I'll see if know anybody willing to help."

"Do that, then," Arthur confirmed. "Your plan is a good one. We'll move forward with it-"

"We will?" Merlin said, an eyebrow lifted in a way that she must've picked up from Gaius.

"Yes," Arthur said firmly. "Now, moving on-"

The rest of the meeting both flew by and dragged on. The session was devoted to more straight-forward and familiar matters- the rationing of the grain supply, the training of new knights, and so on- but Arthur kept wanting to get back to his wife. Mentally cursing himself, he wondered how he'd survive the next nine months.

Merlin noticed this and, once the meeting was over and everybody had been dismissed, "You aren't going to last nine months."

She sounded far too cheerful at the prospect, and he decided that it needed to stop. "Shut up, Merlin."

He couldn't argue with her after all. Not when she was completely right.

"When are you going to announce it to the kingdom?" Merlin asked as they began the walk back to Arthur's chambers. Merlin, Arthur noticed, took her usual position next to him when they walked: to his right. Most servants walked behind their masters and spoke not a word, unless otherwise instructed.

"I'll wait a few weeks I suppose for everything to settle down and for the five kingdoms to leave," Arthur concluded. "Although this should be a celebration for everybody-"

"A bit self-centered there, Arthur?" she teased, but it was said with no true malice, as she completely agreed with him.

"-I rather share it with my subjects first."

"A wise choice," Merlin congratulated. Arthur opened the chamber door and entered. Merlin was about to follow him inside when he stopped her, blocking the door.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded. Merlin didn't know how to respond to that, as she wasn't entirely sure what she had been doing, but that didn't mean he had to be such a prat about it.

"I was entering your chambers-"

"I have a new servant now, Merlin," Arthur said, and if Merlin hadn't known any better, she'd say that she detected a bit of sadness in his voice. "You don't need to help me put my armor on for training anymore."

Instead of getting jealous (which she wasn't, of course not, since she didn't have to do all the jobs like mucking the stables and doing the laundry and cleaning out the chamber pot- the jobs that she had been doing for years and years now- no not jealous at all-), Merlin just sputtered and snapped, "I was going to check on your wife!"

With that, she pushed past him and entered the chamber, head held high, reveling in Arthur's grumbles of grudging acceptance.

"Where is she?" Merlin demanded, looking around the room. Gwen wasn't in bed. Merlin walked further into the room and started peeking around the wardrobe and curtains, as though Gwen would be foolish enough to hide inside.

Arthur, upon realizing that his wife was gone, took the far more sensible approach: he asked the servant who was cleaning out the bed.

The servant bowed before saying politely, "I believe the queen mentioned something about lunch in her personal chambers."

Determined, Merlin walked over to the door which connected Arthur's chambers to Gwen's rarely used one. Sure enough, when she opened the door, there was Gwen, looking far better than she did this morning (still a bit peaky, in Merlin's opinion) and dressed in all the finery befitting her station. She was sitting at the table, surrounded by a group of female courtiers who were now all staring at Merlin.

Gwen said calmly, "Ah, Merlin. Here you are. Wonderful of you to join us. Please sit down."

Unsure of what else to do, Merlin closed the door behind her (waving off a frustrated Arthur with a flap of her hands and a mouthed she's fine) before settling down in the last remaining chair.

And that was how Merlin found herself spending the rest of the afternoon among the most boring and stuffy company she could've ever imagined.

Merlin popped another grape in her mouth, hoping that by keeping her mouth full of the rapidly dwindling food would keep her from having to talk.

Lady Lucinda waved over a servant to fill her cup. Then she gestured impatiently for the servant to refuel Merlin's goblet. In all honestly, Merlin had had more than enough wine— anymore and she'd start to feel the effects- but there was really no way for her to argue.

Externally, she smiled and said, "Thank you."

The servant went to pour, but jerked suddenly, and missed. Merlin jumped up in surprise, but she wasn't angry. She understood how hard it could be to maintain one's balance. It was an easy fix, anyway, with a wave of her hand to clean her clothes.

Lady Lucinda was not thrilled and snapped, "Give me that!"

Taking the pitcher, she put on a sweet smile as she filled Merlin's glass for her. Merlin thought it was a bit out of character, but seeing magic did make some people uncomfortable. Merlin took a sip of the wine as a courtesy and did her best not to grimace. Arthur wouldn't be thrilled if she showed up to dinner drunk.

When Gwen suggested that they all break to get some rest before the night's feast, Merlin had never been more grateful to the queen in her life. The feeling of gratitude lifted her, buoyed her, for the rest of the night, even as Millie stuffed her into a bright blue dress, pulling the gold corset tight on top, even as Merlin was lead by Sir Gwaine into the crowded room, even as she was seated at the king's right hand, with Gwaine to her right, and Baron Humphrey far on the other side of the room.

"You look lovely," Gwaine said, leaning in to speak to her. Merlin, who had been distractedly looking around, turned her attention back to him. Rather than blushing that beautiful red as she often did (hence why he often tried to get her to do it), she simply thanked him and went back to staring.

Surprised at her curtness, since Merlin was often quite talkative at these dinners, even when she had been a servant, he exchanged a glance with Arthur over her head— she really was quite small. Arthur simply shrugged, attributing Merlin's behavior to one of her occasional moods, before turning to speak to his own wife (who he watched like a hawk for any sign that the night's activities might be tiring her, despite her protests otherwise).

Determined to talk to Merlin, he tried to draw her into conversation several times, but each time, she brushed him off. None of the knights- not Percival, not Elyan, not even Lancelot- could get a peep out of her. By the end of the night, Gwaine had to admit that he was extremely frustrated, and only the promise of another night with Merlin (after they worked out whatever disagreement they'd obviously had— and certain things were always better after an argument, weren't they?) made it bearable.

But even after the feast, things were going wrong. Merlin still wanted nothing to do with him. Instead, as soon as the king dismissed them, she raced out of the dining hall and into the main hall where the lords and ladies were mingling. Gwaine raced after her, intercepting her as she went to try and speak to Sir Humphrey.

"Merlin! Merlin!"

She stopped, huffed, and turned around. Clearly irritated, she demanded, "What?"

"Have I upset you somehow?" Gwaine asked, racking his brain, trying to remember if he had done anything.

Merlin didn't say anything. She just stared at him impatiently.

Gwaine finally asked, "Do you regret last night?"

For the first time since he had seen her this night, her expression showed something other than obvious annoyance with him. She looked at him as though she couldn't believe what he was asking her.

"Don't be silly Gwaine," Merlin said. Gwaine felt the pit of worry unfurl in his stomach. Then she said, "Of course I do."

She scurried off, leaving Gwaine standing in a hall full of people, yet feeling completely alone. Before he could begin to scream or tear his hair out or act completely un-knightly, he felt a hand grab his shoulder and turn him.

Lancelot had taken hold of him. Whispering, "Not here," Lancelot pulled him out the main hall and towards one of the spare rooms. The other knights (and Arthur) followed. As they walked, Elyan said quickly, "Gwen's gone to talk to Merlin. Don't worry, Gwaine, it'll all be fine."

Leon knocked on a door and opened it— only to see two figures, hidden by shadow, in what looked to be a passionate embrace. "Sorry!"

"Merlin and I could've been doing that right about now," Gwaine said forlornly. Leon shut the door and the group of knights shuffled to down the corridor further into another room.

"Where are you taking me?" Gwaine demanded. Percival pushed him inside and then closed the door firmly behind them all. They were in a room clearly not in use by any of the guests, although it had been cleaned and prepped for the celebrations. If Gwaine remembered correctly, several kingdoms had been unable to send delegates due to disastrous weather.

"You need a drink," was all Arthur said. He walked over to one of the cabinets. "There's usually extra wine in these unused rooms."

Sure enough, he pulled out a skein of it and Gwaine had never been more grateful.

"You're a great friend, Arthur," he said solemnly.

"I know."

Several rooms down, a different sort of conversation was taking place.

"They almost saw us!" somebody said in a low whisper, despite the thick walls of the castle. "We need to be more careful!"

"There is no 'we!' You are not dragging me into your mess!" said another voice. "I am going to go to the king at once!"

"No!"

"Wha- Ugh!"

There was the distinct thump of a dead body hitting the ground.

A few minutes later, a lone figure slid out of the room, making sure to shut the door, and rejoined the party.


	3. In Which Merlin's Behavior is Not the Only Strangeness in Camelot

"She won't tell me anything!" Gwen scowled, taking a bite of her light breakfast. Across from the table, her husband rubbed his hand across his face.

"You should've  _seen_ Gwaine last night. He was a wreck."

"Well, wouldn't you be? If you were in his position?" Gwen asked. Arthur couldn't help but smile lovingly.

"I'd be distraught," he admitted. Arthur was quiet for a moment. Finally he decided, "I'll try and speak to her. Usually I can get through her thick skull."

"I doubt she'll take kindly to you insulting her," Gwen said, lips pressed thin into a disapproving line. Arthur shrugged, uncaring.

"She's being completely unreasonable. She deserves to be insulted." Arthur was adamant on this point. "And, anyway, you and I are meant to be celebrating—  _not_ cleaning up after her mess."

Gwen just smiled ruefully. "And how many of  _your_ messes has she cleaned up?" Not giving Arthur a chance to say anything, she gently prodded, a surprisingly teasing gleam in her eyes, "Go help your friend. There'll be plenty of time for  _celebrations_ later."

With that delicious promise, Arthur left their chambers to go look for Merlin.

He found her outside by the fields, sitting on one of the benches, watching some of the knights train. Rather, she was watching  _one_ of the knights, and it wasn't Gwaine. Humphrey (not even a knight by the realm's standards) was sparring with a newly promoted squire. Even against such a green partner, Humphrey's skills (or lack there of) were apparent.

Walking up behind her, Arthur cleared his throat to get Merlin's attention, and she spun around in her seat. She was blushing and looking guilty, as though she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have been, which, in Arthur's mind, she had been.

"Arthur," she said. Accusingly, she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"As king, it's my duty to oversee the training of my knights," Arthur said sensibly, taking a seat next to her. He asked her, "What are  _you_ doing here?"

Merlin shifted and put on her best "innocent" face, which, over the years, Arthur had come to recognize as a surefire sign that she was up to something. "I didn't have any Court Sorceress business, so I thought I'd come here and- keep- some of the knights- ah, company."

She stuttered towards the end of her sentence, but Arthur pretended not to notice. "I see. And is there any knight in particular who is lucky enough to receive your  _company?_ "

At this Merlin, brightened, no longer looking guilty. "Baron Humphrey, of course!"

"Of course." Arthur deadpanned.

Baron Humphrey chose that moment to turn around and glance in their direction. Merlin straightened and smiled and waved stupidly at him. He seemed surprisingly flustered by the attention (he usually relished in such behaviors from young, pretty women), and Arthur had no doubt that it was due to the presence of his king there. As such, Humphrey gave a simple nod in acknowledgement to Merlin before going back to his woeful sparring.

When Arthur looked to his friend by his side, she looked noticeably saddened. He didn't quite know what to say or how to respond ( _What in the world was happening here?_ ), but before he could even try, Merlin spoke.

"He barely even notices me," she said glumly. "He thinks I'm an idiot."

Brushing aside his usual retort that she  _was_ an idiot, Arthur bit his tongue. He should've been berating Merlin—- telling her to quit fawning over Humphrey, that Gwaine missed her— but she looked so  _sad._

He found the words coming out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"While I won't deny you are idiotic-" She glared at him for this. "-I doubt he thinks you're a complete moron. You're Court Sorceress, after all."

Merlin shook her head in denial. "No, no. I mean, yes, I am. That, I mean. Court Sorceress, I suppose. But he's a  _knight._ "

"Actually, he isn't," Arthur said bluntly. He turned again to watch as Humphrey failed to block a rather pathetic thrust of the squire's sword. "He's a Baron, and a relatively unimportant one, at that. He cares little for anyone but himself and he certainly can't fight… I'd never let a man like him into Camelot's army."

This was apparently the wrong thing to say.

He felt the magic in the air, felt it cackle and surge like lightning, and he'd swear on his grave that he felt the grounds of Camelot herself shake. He whipped his head toward Merlin, only to see that she was well and truly furious.

" _Don't_ speak that way about him!"

Arthur had never been terrified of Merlin, even when he had learnt she had magic. Angry? Yes. Betrayed? Definitely. Confused? Perhaps more than he'd ever been in his life. But  _scared?_ No.

He was scared now.

This was  _not_ Merlin. This  _person_ showed none of the restraint, none of the care, none of gentleness of spirit which Arthur had come to identify with his good friend. Instinct kicked in and he uttered a hasty apology.

It seemed to do the trick. The magic immediately settled, although not completely, and Merlin and Arthur were left sitting in an awkward silence (at least for him). Merlin continued to watch Humphrey, whereas Arthur tried and failed to think of a way to broach the subject of her relationship with Gwaine.

"Merlin, about you and Gwaine…"

"Sire!"

It was Leon, coming from inside the castle. He looked concerned and was all but sprinting to where he sat with Merlin. Arthur was only the slightest bit (alright, quite a bit) thankful that his conversation was being interrupted.

"Leon?" Arthur asked, standing up. Merlin didn't move. Actually, she didn't even acknowledge Leon's presence. Her fixation with Humphrey was slightly disturbing, to tell the truth.

Lowering his voice, Leon said, "Somebody has been found dead in the castle."

Arthur was immediately on alert. "What? Who? Where?"

"Perhaps it is best you come see for yourself," Leon suggested. "Is this not a conversation meant for a more private audience?"

"You're right," Arthur agreed, striding determinedly away with Leon, only to stop and turn. Merlin was still sitting on the bench.

"Merlin?" he called out impatiently. When she looked at him, her eyes were a bit glazed over, as though she were in the middle of a daydream. He asked, "Aren't you coming?"

"I'm sure you and Leon can handle it," she said simply. Then she went back to watching. Arthur sputtered, but decided  _against_ forcing her to come. It wasn't worth it. Instead, he beckoned for Leon to continue to the dead body, ignoring his questioning glances.

As they walked, Leon took the time to ask, "I take it your time with Merlin wasn't fruitful?"

"Not at all. How is Gwaine?"

Leon shrugged. "Showed up early for training this morning."

"That's unusual," Arthur snorted. Gwaine was usually the last to show up, if he showed up at all. Arthur would've given him more grief about it, but as reluctant as he was to admit it, Gwaine's skills with a sword were really beyond practice. As long as he kept himself in decent shape and didn't drink himself into an early grave, Arthur kept his mouth shout.

"Nearly decapitated poor Lancelot," Leon said continuing. "They were actually headed to Gaius's quarters to have Lancelot's head looked over when they found the body."

"And where was that?" Arthur asked.

Pointed gestured to a door, now guarded by two knights. Arthur recognized it immediately as the one he and the others had almost brought Gwaine into before they found that couple in an  _amorous_ embrace. Leon clearly had noticed the same thing because he gave Arthur a significant look as he opened the door for him.

When Arthur entered the chambers, he saw Lancelot (sporting a new bruise) and Gwaine (who looked more grim than ever) standing over the body of young Lord Robert, spread on the floor. Arthur couldn't help but grimace. A death in Camelot was always something he grieved for- these were  _his_ people, after all- but Lord Robert was a good man. It was a shame to see him gone.

Lord Robert had clearly been killed by a blow to the head. Arthur didn't need to be a physician to see that. Aside from the blood that had pooled underneath his skull, a heavy vase lay partially shattered on the floor next to him. "Is Gaius on his way?"

"Yes, sire" Leon confirmed.

Arthur nodded and walked slowly in a circle around the body. "Who else knows about this?"

"Only myself, Lancelot, and Gwaine. The two guards at the door are unaware of what's inside here."

"Inform Percival, Elyan, and Tristan, then," Arthur said. "It's best we keep this matter…" Arthur trailed off, distracted by something he saw Lord Robert clutching in his hand. Gwaine, who was at this point standing next to him, nodded.

"So you saw that, too?" He asked. His voice sounded hoarse, as though he had been drinking the night before, and his red eyes confirmed that. Arthur would've chastised him for it had he not been the one encouraging him to drink. Gwaine continued, "Thought'd be best to wait for you to arrive before moving anything around."

Arthur squatted and gently removed what he then realized was a piece of parchment from the dead baron's hand. "You thought right Sir Gwaine. What is  _this?_ "

There were words scrawled on it and it had clearly been torn from a book. Whatever was written on it was in a language he could not understand. Lancelot, who was peering over his shoulder, said, "It looks like some sort of spell. Should I get Merlin?"

Gwaine's flinch was barely perceptible and not the reason Arthur hesitated. There was something else- something off about the way she had been acting- that made him say, "No. Let's see if Gaius can identify this for us, first."

Gaius, as turned out, could.

"It's a love spell, my lord," Gaius said when he had entered the room. He had looked at the body and confirmed that a blow to the head had been what killed Lord Robert. Now he examining the scrap of parchment. "And a very complicated one."

"Why would Lord Robert need a love spell?" Leon asked. "The man has been happily married for several years."

"Why indeed?" Arthur said, lips pursed. Arthur shook his head to clear it. "Our main worry needs to be finding our killer. They are most likely still in Camelot and others could be at risk."

"The two people we ran into last night might've been Robert and his killer," Gwaine noted. "That would mean the killer would have to be somebody with easy access to the castle and the banquet. Nobody else could manage to get past the extra guards or the wards put up by Merlin."

"In that case," Arthur said, turning to Leon, "I want you to stop all guests from the banquet from leaving the castle until this matter is solved. Make up a reason- say bandits attacked or something and the roads are unsafe. I don't care. They stay here until the matter is completely resolved."

"What of Robert's wife?" Lancelot asked.

"I'll let Guinevere know of what's happened, and together we'll inform the Lady Lucinda." Guinevere knew the lady in question far better than he did and would no doubt be invaluable in relating the news to her.

"What of the love spell?" Gaius asked.

"Do we have any way of knowing if Robert managed to enact the spell before he died?"

"Merlin should have little trouble finding out," Gaius said.

Arthur pursed his lips. He wondered whether or not Merlin would help Gaius, but the thought was quickly banished. He'd never seen Merlin deny Gaius  _any_ help. In fact, the few times the two of them had gotten into arguments, Merlin had been guilt-ridden and distraught for days. No matter what was wrong with her now, she'd help Gaius. Arthur was sure of it.

As it happened, Gaius found Merlin flipping through her magic book in her new quarters. She didn't seem to looking for anything in particular and put the book down after marking her page when she heard him knock.

"Gaius!" She said, smiling. Gaius noted that the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Merlin, I understand that you must be terribly busy— "

"Oh, yes," Merlin agreed. She looked back down at her book and flipped through a few more pages. "I need to find a spell that will — "

This time it was Gaius's turn to interrupt. Merlin was gesturing to a part of herself that Gaius  _never_ wanted to think about. "Merlin! Why on earth would you want to do something about, ah, those?"

Merlin frowned and looked down at her chest, the part of herself she and Gaius were referring to. "Well, all of the women Humphrey has been with, you see. He won't look at me unless I look like them. So? Do you know of a spell?"

"I can honestly say, Merlin, that it is not something I have ever had to look up," Gaius said. Merlin scowled as though he had personally insulted her. Gaius made note of her behavior, his suspicions growing. "I was wondering if you could take a break, Merlin, for a short while, and help me."

"Help you with what?" Merlin asked half-heartedly. She didn't bother to look up from her spell-book. "An enlargement spell," she read aloud. "Do you think if I modify it, it will work?"

"I'd be nervous about trying," Gaius said. "Modifying spells to work on human bodies is quite tricky, even for a sorcerer of your caliber, and you wouldn't want to hurt yourself. And, actually, I have reason to believe that somebody has enacted a love spell. I need your help in finding out who the unlucky recipient is."

"Unlucky?" Merlin looked surprised. "How is being in love unlucky? It's the most wonderful feeling in the world!"

Gaius hastened to correct himself. "No, of course it is. I just meant that there is reason to suspect that the persons involved in this spell may know something about certain events that have recently occurred within the castle walls."

"Oh, you mean the murder," Merlin said easily, standing up. She closed her book and put it back on the shelf, clearly done looking for  _enlargement_ spells for the day. "Arthur mentioned that to me. I'm sorry, Gaius, but I really have other things to do. I can't help with that right now. Maybe another time?"

"But, Merlin," Gaius argued, as Merlin got read to head out the door, "This is incredibly important to Arthur."

"Well, he should learn to get on without me for change," she snapped, before slamming the door behind her. Gaius stood in the room for a moment, alone with his thoughts. Then, he went to report to Arthur.

In one of the council rooms with his closest knights, Arthur wasn't happy about the recent developments. Elyan, Percival, and Tristan had also been informed of Robert's death. Leon had issued a statement regarding bad weather and bandits and basically saying how everybody was stranded in the castle. Now, they had gathered in hopes of working out a solution, but Gaius's news was making that very difficult.

"She won't help?"

"No, sire," Gaius confirmed. Seated at the table, Gwaine grunted and clenched his fists in frustration. Elyan patted him on the shoulder.

"Well, then, can  _you_ find out who cast that spell? And whom on?"

"My powers have always been limited, Arthur, even more so in my old age. I can try, but I doubt I will be very successful."

"And there's nothing  _we_ can do?" Lancelot clarified.

"Not much, I'm afraid," Gaius said. "Only the behaviors of those in Camelot can tell us if they've been put under such a spell."

"In that case, watch out for anybody who seems particularly interested in Lord Robert's death," Arthur instructed his men. "Make sure you do it  _discretely._ I don't want this castle in a panic."

The men went to leave the room, but Gaius stopped them by holding up his hand. Everybody waited for the trusted physician to speak. "You didn't let me finish. There is not much we can do, but I believe I already know who was the recipient of this particular spell. It would, at least, account for much of their strange behavior."

"Well, then, don't keep us in suspense, Gaius," Arthur demanded. "Who is it that's cursed?"

"Merlin."


	4. In Which Gwaine Tries To Woo His Fair Maiden (And Fails Spectacularly)

"Merlin?" Arthur repeated doubtfully. "Merlin hasn't shown the slightest bit of interest in Lord Robert these past few days."

"Perhaps not," Gaius agreed. "However, she has been paying quite a bit of attention to Baron Humphrey, if I'm not mistaken."

There was a moment of silence as realization swept through the room. All of the knights began to reconcile Merlin's strange behavior over the past several days with the newfound knowledge that she was under a spell. For the first time in a while, Gwaine's eyes brightened and he began to look hopeful.

Arthur dashed those hopes.

"Why would Robert curse Merlin to fall in love with Humphrey? He has nothing to gain from such a match."

"You're assuming that Robert was the one who enacted the spell, sire," Lancelot pointed out, already coming to the same conclusion Gaius had reached earlier. "What if he wasn't?"

"The paper clutched in his hand—" began Arthur, only to stop. He absentmindedly began tapping his fingers against the table. "Unless he discovered that Baron Humphrey had enacted the spell and chose to confront him."

"It would give the Baron good motive to kill Robert," Elyan noted helpfully.

"But why would Baron Humphrey want to cast a spell on Merlin?" Tristan said, speaking for the first time.

Arthur wasn't happy at the mention of the Baron's name. In fact, none of the knights were. Arthur did not envy the Baron if he  _had_ cast that spell. Gwaine would be especially upset with him- not that Arthur wouldn't  _try_  to stop Gwaine from doing anything too rash... but that didn't mean he would succeed. Merlin was his friend too, after all.

"Merlin is a powerful sorceress," Gaius argued. "And her position in Camelot gives her even more power. Having her under his influence would be useful indeed."

"Then why not just cast a mind-control spell or something?" Percival said. "Why go through the trouble of a love spell?"

"Mind control is tricky," said Gaius, "And many spells wear off with time, especially against someone with magic such as Merlin's. Love spells, while difficult in their own way, are stronger, and less likely to be broken so easily."

"Not to mention," added Leon, "If Merlin appeared to be in love with Humphrey, her doing his will would seem far less suspicious than if she began doing so out of the blue.

"People do strange things for love," Arthur muttered, although he appeared to be speaking mostly to himself. He was quiet for a moment, mulling everything over in his mind. How this had happened, what it meant,  _what to do…_

"There's something bothering me about this," said Tristan, interrupting him. "Humphrey has paid her no mind. Why go through the trouble of casting the spell on her if he'll give her no attention?"

There was more silence as everybody considered his very valid point. Finally, Gaius spoke up.

"It could be a way of increasing her desire to do his bidding," Gaius said hesitantly, as though he was not entirely sure of his own theory. "Love spells can drive an individual mad with determination and longing  _if_  the object of one's affections do not return the sentiments. Often, those under spells will attempt larger and more extravagant gestures to attract attention."

Remembering some of the things he had done under a love spell to win the affection of Lady Vivian, Arthur cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. "Have you seen any evidence if this, Gaius?"

"Yes, unfortunately," the old man sighed. "Because he has paid her no mind yet, she seems even more determined to earn his love— by any means necessary. Earlier today I caught her- ahem- attempting to  _enhance_ herself using magic."

"Enhance what?" asked Gwaine, rather stupidly. Gaius just shifted uncomfortably and made a vague motion near his chest, then waited for them to understand. Once realization dawned, their faces reddened. Leon choked on air and began sputtering.

Gwaine was furious. Merlin had never cared a lick what she looked like— not that she didn't keep herself clean and fresh, and dressed up on occasion— but she had always been comfortable and at peace with herself. The fact that Humphrey changed that about her— had  _her_ wanting to change things about her— when she was already perfect in his mind…

Well. He couldn't let that stand.

"I'm going to kill him," Gwaine announced cheerfully. There was no need to ask who he was talking about. Nobody seemed to disagree with him.

"Not yet, Gwaine," Arthur warned, almost reluctantly. Before Gwaine could protest, Arthur held his hand up for silence. "If he's guilty, by all means, challenge him to a duel, but right now all we have is speculation, and that is useless to us."

"So what do we do then?" Lancelot said, placing a calming hand on Gwaine's shoulder. It took all of Gwaine's effort not to shove it off. He still wasn't happy.

"We'll have to watch Humphrey," Arthur decided, "To see if he does anything suspicious. As for Merlin, we'll need to try and break the spell somehow."

"True love's kiss, then," Gaius said knowingly. "It can break any love spell."

Everybody turned to look at Gwaine.

"What?  _Me?"_ He yelped in a quite undignified fashion.

"Who else?" asked Lancelot.

"Well, yes," Gwaine stuttered, "But—"

"It's settled, then," Arthur said. "Gwaine will take care of Merlin. The rest of us will focus on Humphrey."

As the room emptied, Gwaine was left looking quite confused and still seated at the table. Lancelot, thankfully, had no plans on abandoning his friend in such a state.

"What's the matter?" Lancelot asked. "I thought you'd be thrilled for the change to kiss Merlin again."

"It's not that," Gwaine denied, shaking his head. "It's just… what if it doesn't work?"

"If what doesn't work?"

"The kiss!" Gwaine huffed. "Kissing her is all well and good, but if I kiss her and the spell doesn't break. It would mean that I'm not her true love, wouldn't it?

Lancelot was quiet for a moment as he contemplated Gwaine's predicament. Finally, quietly, he said with as much conviction as he could muster, "It will work."

Gwaine saw right through him.

"You don't know that," he said.

"No, I don't," admitted Lancelot. "But somebody has to snap Merlin out of this, and you're the best chance we have of doing it."

"Sorry, but I don't find that particularly reassuring." Gwaine snarked. He paused for a moment to consider things. Even if Merlin wasn't his true love and even if she didn't feel particularly loving towards him now (curse or not), it didn't change the fact that  _Gwaine_ loved  _her._ He could not let himself stand idly by while she was held under some spell and throwing herself at some baron. Gwaine was not one for standing by anything, let alone something that Merlin, if she were herself, would be terribly embarrassed by.

He sighed.

The big problem— the only problem now— was how to kiss Merlin if she wouldn't even look twice at him.

Gwaine thought for another moment, before turning to Lancelot again, this time wearing a determined smirk.

"What's Tegan doing today?"

"Tegan?" Lancelot said, surprised at the mention of the woman he was currently courting. When Gwaine nodded, Lancelot answered,"I believe she's working. Arthur had her oversee all the flowers for the celebration, so she's probably somewhere in the castle. Why?"

"I need a favor from her," Gwaine said, "If I'm to woo Merlin all over again. She helped me the last time, remember?"

"I did all the work for you last time," corrected Tegan, once they had found her and explained the situation. She had been helping decorate the great hall for that night's feast, but was happy to stop for a few minutes and speak with her friends.

"Details," Gwaine shrugged. "I've got it all planned out."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to recreate the first time we met," Gwaine said proudly. Lancelot and Tegan exchanged nervous looks. That was not the reaction Gwaine had been hoping for, he admitted to himself.

"Didn't you meet in a bar fight?" Tegan asked.

"You were stabbed," Lancelot added, rather unhelpfully, as though Gwaine would forget.

"Alright. The second time we met," Gwaine corrected with a sigh.

"When you woke up in Gaius's chambers—?" Lancelot started, before stopping as Gwaine stomped his foot and huffed in annoyance. It wasn't that it was an unpleasant memory, but passing out and waking up to a pair of the prettiest blue eyes he'd ever seen (then or since) would hardly be useful for helping woo Merlin. It's not a moment he could really recreate, either.

"Third time, then!" Gwaine snapped, losing his patience. "You were there, Tegan."

Her face lit up in recognition. "The flower!"

"Precisely," he confirmed. "We'll lure Merlin to the lower towns. I'll 'bump into her' and launch into that whole spiel I gave last time. It's bound to work."

Lancelot and his girl now looked far more on-board with the idea. Good. He would need help. There was no chance Merlin would go to the lower towns if  _he_ asked (and it would ruin the element of surprise, too), but she was still on good terms with Lancelot, and Tegan was stubbornly convincing, at it turned out.

As Gwaine, Lancelot, and Tegan plotted, Gwen was having a meeting of a decidedly more unpleasant nature.

She sat with Lucinda in her chambers, tea at the ready. Lucinda didn't look as though she knew why she'd been called there— Guinevere didn't blame her. She sighed. Guinevere did not relish jobs like this, but she supposed they came with being queen.

"Is everything alright, your majesty?" Lucinda asked, wringing her hands.

Gwen straightened. "No, unfortunately not. It's about your husband…"

"I haven't seen him today, your majesty," Lucinda said, wrinkling her forehead. "He must not have come to bed last night until after I was asleep and he was already gone when I awoke. Is he alright? Has something happened?"

"He's dead," Gwen said, as gently as she could. It wasn't the best way she could've put it, she supposed, but she didn't know how else to say it. This was the first time she'd done this sort of thing. She tried to soften the blow. "I'm sorry."

Lucinda was trying to compose herself, but failing. She began to breathe quite heavily and tears ran down her cheeks. "I— I— don't understand—"

"He was found in one of the spare rooms by one of the knights," Gwen said.

Lucinda took a few deep breaths. "Do they know how—"

"They're looking into it," Gwen said quickly. Arthur had told her to keep the cause of death secret, for now. They didn't want word getting out and spreading panic.

"I see," Lucinda said simply, the tears coming faster now. "I'm sorry—I—"

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Gwen assured her, handing her a handkerchief. Lucinda used it to wipe her face, although the action was a bit useless since she was still crying. "You lost your husband. You have every right to grieve. I know when I lost my father, I was inconsolable."

Lucinda offered Gwen a watery smile.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Will you be alright?" Gwen asked, offering Lucinda a cup of tea that she had prepared. Lucinda accepted the cup and took several sips. "Do you need me to get a calming draught from the court physician?"

"No, no," Lucinda denied. She stood. "And I will be. Alright, I mean. I just- I think I need to be alone right now."

"Of course," Gwen said, standing with her. She took back the teacup and placed it on the table, then walked Lucinda to the door. "Please don't hesitate to find me if you need me."

Lucinda smiled and nodded, then left. Guinevere was left standing in the empty room alone, so she sighed again and plopped into the nearest chair, emotionally exhausted, despite the fact that everything had gone relatively well. Still, she hoped the others were having a better day than she was.

Lancelot and Tegan, as it happened, were. They had finished meeting with Gwaine, then gone off to find Merlin. After checking with Gaius, they had gone off to Merlin's new rooms, where they found her a few minutes later. She seemed to be working on a potion of some sort.

"What are you doing here, Merlin?" Lancelot asked. "What kind of potion is that?"

"Hm," Merlin agreed, not even caring if Lancelot seemed more absentminded than usual. "It's a potion to prevent unwanted pregnancy. I think I might find it quite useful soon."

Lancelot blanched, but thankfully Tegan recovered faster.

"Well, that's all well and good," she said, hands on her hips, "but have you been here all afternoon?"

"Yes," Merlin affirmed, mixing something together, her eyes briefly flashing gold. "Why?"

"Well, it's such a lovely day out," Lancelot said, finally having gathered himself. "We thought you might enjoy a walk."

"I don't know-"

"Go, Merlin," Tegan said, shooing the former maid-servant down the hall.

"I don't want to—"

"Your workroom is all stuffy," Tegan told her firmly. "Why don't you go down to the lower town and get some fresh air? Lancelot and I will stay here, and if anything comes up, we'll come find you."

Merlin didn't like the sound of going to the lower towns. Humphrey wasn't there. Actually, she wasn't sure where he is…

"Humphrey is in a meeting till later this afternoon," Lancelot offered, as though he could read her mind. "Maybe you can bring him a small gift from the markets."

That was a good idea, Merlin decided. So, with a nod, she left her friends and headed outdoors. It  _was_  a lovely day, warm and breezy and sunny, and the markets were understandable crowded. The visiting nobles had lead to an abundance of trade in a time when it was usually rather quiet, and Merlin looked through a variety of foreign and homemade items with curiosity.

She wondered which one Humphrey would like best…

She was pondering a small, well-made dagger when somebody tapped her on the shoulder.

Gwaine was grinning at her and holding a small, yellow flower.

"I think you dropped this," he said proudly, pleased with himself for coming up with a plan. His grin faded slightly when Merlin frowned.

"I don't think that's mine," she said, but it wasn't not jokingly, as though she knew what he was doing. Her tone was brisk and a bit annoyed.

"Well, let's see," he said, taking a step closer to her. Merlin's frown deepened as he gently brushed her hair away from her face, placing the flower behind her ear. "There. It suits you perfectly."

"Gwaine," Merlin sighed, "I don't have time for this..."

"Don't princesses have all the time in the world?" Gwaine asked, desperate to get back on track.

Merlin rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I'm not a princess, as you very well know. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find a gift for Humphrey."

She turned and began to examine some other trinkets the stall was offering, leaving Gwaine sputtering.

"What do you even see in him?" He blurted out, before he could stop himself. But, really,  _honestly._ Humphrey? Spell or no spell, Merlin had better sense than that.

"That's none of your business," Merlin retorted sharply. "Good day, sir knight."

Merlin stomped off in a huff. She was angry, but it was the most emotion she'd shown him in the past two days, including that night she broke his heart when she'd been cold as ice.

And she'd kept the flower.

She might've just forgotten about it in her anger, but either way, Gwaine would count it as a small victory. He was no closer to kissing her and breaking the spell, though.

Oh, how he wanted to find out who cursed her (probably Humphrey). He  _missed_ Merlin. He missed the time they used to spend together, the way her eyes used to light up when she saw him (and wasn't that the best feeling in the world?). Even when they were only friends, she brought a warmth to his life that he didn't know he needed.

And now—

Well.

He was definitively going to have a chat with the spell caster about cursing unwilling maidens— particularly maidens who were powerful sorceresses whom Gwaine happened to be in love with.

Of course, for Gwaine to  _talk_ to the evildoer in question, he had to know for certain who it was ( _please be Humphrey_ — Gwaine hated him enough as it is), and he could only do that if Merlin was back to normal and could trace the spell back to the original caster, and that would only happen if he managed to kiss Merlin, which was proving even more difficult than he had anticipated.

Gwaine sighed, his head spinning.

_Back to the drawing board._


	5. In Which Nobody Comes Closer to Breaking Merlin's Spell

_Things are going exactly as I hoped._

Camelot may have had the strongest army in the five kingdom, but their true weaknesses were obvious to anybody with half a brain. Everybody knew that the king had a soft spot for his wife, his knights, and, perhaps most importantly, his court sorceress. The two had apparently been longtime friends for many years, and this business with the sorceress was keeping him (and everybody else) distracted.

Now the rest of the plan could be enacted, followed by a hasty retreat from Camelot into a long life of true luxury.

Assuming that the knights didn't mess things up.

The fact that the sorceress had a beau had been discouraging, at first, but it looked like she was doing a good job on her own keeping him at bay. No need for interference, which left more time for  _other_ matters.

But before any of that got done, it was time to attend a meeting.

The meeting in question was set to begin soon. Arthur watched as everybody trickled in— Baron Humphrey, Lord Thomas, and Leon. Then there came the Lady Lucinda, who, for the time being, would be acting in her husband's steed (her eyes were puffy and red, as though she'd been crying, but she otherwise looked to be coping, which pleased Arthur to note— her talk with Guinevere must've gone well). Finally, there was Merlin, who looked completely besotted with Humphrey and seemed to be making no effort to hide it. Honestly, that idiot—

Arthur cleared his throat and his thoughts.

"Good, since we're all here, I suppose can proceed," he said.

As with the last meeting, it dragged on in places. Nobles were constantly speaking over one another. Baron Humphrey was no help— if anything, he was the worst of the lot. Leon was too busy keeping Merlin in check (as Arthur had asked him to do earlier that day), and Lucinda was beginning to look even closer to tears.

Eventually, as the meeting drew to a close, Arthur looked down at his piece of parchment to the final item on their agenda.

"Right, we just need to finalize the trade agreements near Lord Robert's village. If anybody has any objections, now would be the time to make them."

"Actually, milord…"

Everybody turned to look at Lady Lucinda, who had spoken for the first time since the meeting began. It was surprising, too, that this was what she had chosen to speak up about. The deal was essentially completed. Signatures on the official documents were the only things missing.

"It's only," Lucinda began delicately, before pausing and sniffling a bit, "before he… passed, Robert and I were talking. He said he had decided not to go through with the trade agreement. He meant to speak with you that morning."

"I see," Arthur said, raising his eyebrows. A small murmur had gone up throughout the others. Robert changing his mind about the agreements through a serious problem in their plans. "He seemed quite confident at the meeting. What changed his mind?"

"I'm not sure, your majesty," Lucinda admitted. "He only said he didn't want to seem weak in front of the other nobles and wished to discuss things privately."

"I see," Arthur said again, this time letting it trail off as he thought for a moment. Baron Humphrey clearly didn't do any thinking at all.

"You can't seriously be thinking of not going through with the agreement," Baron Humphrey sputtered. "On the word of a  _woman_?"

Arthur's eyes flashed to Merlin for a moment— usually a comment like that would have her up in arms. She didn't seem to care, though. Her eyes still held that dream-like quality they'd had for the better part of the past few days.

"Take care how you speak," Arthur warned, his tone flat and cold. "If the Lady Lucinda says that her husband did not wish to go forth with the agreements, than we will honor his—  _and_ her, for there is no shame in bowing to the will of a woman— wishes. We'll reconvene tomorrow to discuss possible alternatives"

With that, the meeting was over. As everybody filed out, Arthur folded up the parchment pertaining the trade agreements (which he had had his advisors draw up the night before and had been planning on having signed by the various nobles today).

"Baron Humphrey," Arthur called, "please, wait a moment. I need to speak to you. Privately."

Humphrey, who was half risen out of his seat, seemed surprised, but booked no argument and sat back down. Merlin looked as though she were debating staying, but decided not to raise a fuss for once (probably because it would make her look bad in front of Humphrey). She settled for shooting Arthur a glare that quite clearly said, "Don't ruin this for me."

Arthur gave her one in return that said, "King. I can do what I want."

Merlin muttered under her breath as she left the room, closing the door behind her. That left Arthur, Humphrey, and Leon alone.

Arthur had considered having the other knights join him for this meeting, but ultimately had decided against it. The last thing he wanted was Humphrey to be on guard from the moment the meeting started. A room full of angry knights would not help that.

"Is everything alright, your majesty?" Humphrey asked. He didn't seem to have a clue as to what was going on. He was either a good actor, overly confident, or a complete idiot.

Or some combination of the three.

"How has your time in Camelot been treating you?" Arthur said, keeping his tone casual. Leon stood beside his chair, also completely calm.

"Very well, sire," Humphrey answered. "It's a beautiful city."

"Made any new friends?"

"A few…"

"How about enemies?"

"Pardon?" Humphrey spat out, seeming to almost choke on air in his surprise.

Arthur changed tactics. "Have you been spending any time with my court sorceress, Merlin?"

Humphrey blinked for a moment, evidently shocked at the king's sudden shift in topics. "I suppose some, your majesty. I haven't been attempting to, although—"

"'Although' what?" Arthur prodded. Next to him, Leon raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing.

"It's not my place to say," Humphrey hedged.

"Oh, it really is." Arthur gave Humphrey a slightly wolfish smile. Humphrey gulped.

 _Good,_ Arthur thought, perhaps a bit viciously. All thoughts of keeping Humphrey calm have vanished.  _He should be sweating. Merlin will eat him alive once she returns back to normal._

"She seems to have expressed an interest in me," Humphrey finally said. Then, he hastily added, "I never did anything to encourage those feelings, of course."

"Of course not," Leon deadpanned.

"I didn't," the baron snapped. Then, calming, he looked back to Arthur. "It's improper, I know, but believe me, your majesty, I am not sure where she got the idea that I was… interested. It  _wasn't_  from me."

"Oh, it's not me you have to convince" Arthur responded absentmindedly. Humphrey  _seemed_ genuine enough, and he seemed more concerned with the impropriety of it all and Arthur's approval than anything else. "You are dismissed."

Humphrey stood up so eagerly that he almost knocked his chair over. He gave a hasty bow and then practically ran out of the throne room.

"Well, that was fun," Arthur muttered.

"Although not particularly productive," Leon pointed out, taking a seat next to Arthur.

"No," Arthur agreed. "He seemed truthful, but I've met good liars before."

"Merlin was always quite good and telling if people were lying," Leon said, perhaps a bit wistfully.

Arthur snorted. "Oh, yes. For such an idiot, she really could be quite clever at times."

"We  _will_ get her back to normal," Leon said fiercely.

Arthur looked at him, surprised. Of all the Knights of the Round Table, Leon had the least reason to be indebted to Merlin— the others all owed their knighthood to her, but Leon had been here even before she had. Yet, here Leon was, as protective over Merlin as the rest of them. Even though Leon and Merlin had never spent much time together, Arthur supposed that he shouldn't be too surprised at Leon's reaction. Merlin had managed to touch him, too, it seemed.

She did have that effect.

"Yes," Arthur agreed, "We will. If it's not Humphrey, however, then who cast that spell? We have no other leads."

"Only Merlin can tell us now," Leon said grimly.

At that moment, Gwaine was also thinking about the sorceress in question. He was in his chambers, eating a quick lunch, trying to come up with another plan.

A knock on the door broke his concentration.

"Enter," he called, wiping his face with a napkin. The queen entered and gave him a polite smile.

"I'm sorry," Gwen said. "I didn't mean to interrupt your lunch."

Gwaine waved away her concerns. "I had just finished. Please, sit."

He placed his napkin back on the table, and moved his chair so that he might better face Guinevere as she talked. Gwen sat and then looked at him carefully, biting her lips and wringing her hands. Finally, she spoke.

"How are you holding up, Gwaine?" she asked.

"I'm well, milady," he told her hesitantly, not sure what she was getting at.

"It's just that— with everything— we've been so focused on getting Merlin back to normal, we not once thought to ask how  _you_ were. This can't be easy on you."

"I miss her," he admitted, looking down at his hands. Gwen reached forward and took them.

"It'll be alright," she assured him. "We will figure this out and bring her back to us."

"How?" Gwaine demanded. He tore his hands away from hers and stood up suddenly, pushing his chair back with a loud scrape against the floor. He began to pace, agitated, and asked, "How am I suppose to break her of this spell when she won't even  _look_ at me?"

Gwen sighed and stood up, blocking his path. His pacing stopped, and he scowled at her, in that moment not caring if she was his queen.

"Do you know how I broke Arthur's spell? When he was enchanted?"

"You kissed him," Gwaine said simply.

"Well, yes." Gwen huffed a laugh. "I mean  _how_ I kissed him?"

"As any woman kisses the man she loves." Gwaine raised an eyebrow. "Unless you kissed him somewhere else, aside from his mouth?"

"None of that, Sir Gwaine," Gwen chided. "No, what I meant is that Arthur and I— well, we weren't even courting. He was my friend sometimes, my prince during others, but we were not courting, not yet. So, when I found out I had to kiss him, there was really nothing else for it. I gathered what courage I had, strode into his tent, and kissed him full on the mouth. No warning whatsoever. Luckily I escaped with my head."

"A bit more than your head," Gwaine teased. He paused. "You're saying I should just walk up to her and kiss her?"

Gwen sighed. "I'm saying  _don't give up._ "

Gwaine gave a resolved nod and, without further prompting, left the room in search of Merlin.

The castle was bustling, filled with the nobles and their servants who were trapped until Robert's killer could be found. As such, Gwaine had a difficult time finding his sorceress— he was bumped and jostled multiple times as he tried to work his way through the crowded halls, not once deterred from his mission.

He had just found himself in a more deserted area of the castle when he spotted her.

Well, spotted her scarf, actually.

It stood out— bright red, his favorite one. Gwaine walked towards it.

"Merlin," he called out. Not giving her a chance to turn around, he pulled her into his arms and swept her into a deep kiss. She was stiff in his arms at first, no doubt the spell not having been broken yet, but then…

…she was still stiff.

Gwaine felt his heart plummet into his stomach as he straightened them up and pulled back from the kiss. So he  _wasn't_ her true love, then. He had closed his eyes as he went in to kiss her, but the kiss done, he opened his eyes, ready (except not really) to face his heartbreak face on.

He blinked, not sure if what he was seeing was accurate. Except, well, it  _had_ to be, didn't it? It was right in front of him. Or, rather,  _she_ was right in front of him.

And she wasn't Merlin.

His brain scrambled for a second as it tried to place a name to the random face staring back at him in confusion. Then—

"Millie, was it?" Merlin's handmaiden. In Merlin's clothes?

"Yes, Sir Gwaine," the girl said, blushing as red as a beetroot. He allowed himself a moment to be impressed. He had thought only Merlin could get to that color.

"I don't understand," he admitted, releasing her (finally) from his grip and stepping back, giving her some space. "I thought you were Merlin. Where is Merlin? And why are you wearing her clothes?"

"I don't know where my mistress is," Millie admitted, looking a bit less red in the face now that she had room to breathe. "And she gave me these clothes. She said that she didn't want them because they were unflattering and unbecoming of her station."

Gwaine felt a spark of anger grow inside of him.  _Humprhey_ had done this. There was no other explanation as to why Merlin would suddenly wish to discard of her clothes. She did not care about station or observing those sorts of protocols.

Merlin wore what she want. She did what she pleased, when she pleased, how she pleased, and didn't do it to please anyone.

( _Except Arthur._

_On occasion.)_

"Right," Gwaine sighed. "Of course."

Millie smiled uncertainly at him.

"Oh, and sorry," he added after a moment. "About kissing you. I thought you were Merlin. As I said."

"It's perfectly alright, sir," she assured him, patting him consolingly on the arm. "I figured as much."

With that, she excused herself to get back to work, leaving Gwaine standing alone in the halls, at a loss for words.

Again.

_Damn it._


	6. In Which Spells Are Broken And Happy Endings Are Had

"Sir Gwaine?"

The voice came from behind him, startling him out of his thoughts. Gwaine turned and was surprised to see Merlin looking at him, concerned. Unbidden, a smile crossed his face. How was it that even when she was under a spell and hated him, seeing her was still the highlight of his day?

"Merlin," Gwaine answered. "I was just looking for you."

"Oh?"

"I found Millie in your old clothes," he said hesitantly, not sure if the statement would offend her. He wouldn't have worried about such things before, but she was so temperamental now…

As it was, she was currently dressed in all the finery suiting a noble. It also seemed that she had finally managed to get her enlargement spell to work (if they ever made it through this, Gwaine was never going to let her live that down), and she looked so decided  _un-_ Merlin-like (but still lovely) that Gwaine had to hide a cringe.

"I gave then to her," Merlin explained, apparently not noticing his reaction. She gestured at the gown she was wearing. "This is far more appropriate."

Merlin's gesture brought Gwaine's attention back to her chest, but this time for different reasons. There, resting between her collar bones, was the necklace he had given her those many months ago. He couldn't help but smile to himself.

"You kept the necklace I gave you."

It wasn't a question.

Merlin looked down at it, her hand going to touch it, surprised. "Oh, I suppose I did."

"You know, the woman who sold it do me said it was supposed to protect you from evil. Fat lot of good that did, eh?"

Merlin's brow wrinkled and she stared at Gwaine, clearly not understanding what he meant. He shook his head, dismissing her concerns, and her gaze fell for a moment. Then, looking back at him, her hands reached behind her neck to undo the necklace's chain.

"Here, you can have—" she began, but Gwaine stopped her by reaching out and pulling her arms back down and away from the clasp. His hands slipped down to grip hers, and he gave them a gentle squeeze.

"Keep it."

That's when they both noticed how close they were to each other. Gwaine's attempt to stop her from returning the necklace had brought their chests almost flush together, and Gwaine still held Merlin's hands in his.

Merlin looked down at their joined hands and frowned, but when she looked back up at him, Gwaine noticed her eyes held  _something._ For a moment, they were void of the emptiness brought on by the spell and instead filled with something akin to wonder.

"You really love me, don't you?" Merlin whispered.

"I do," Gwaine whispered back. "Very much."

Gwaine could've kissed her then (should've kissed her), but he was suddenly hit with the knowledge that he wanted  _her_ to kiss him. It wouldn't make a difference, spell-wise, but it would make the difference to  _him_ and to her, maybe, and that was reason enough. Gwaine had never kissed a woman against her will and he wasn't about to start now. He  _especially_ wasn't about to start with Merlin.

"I'm sorry," Merlin said, breaking him out of his thoughts and stepping away from him. Gwaine let her, effectively letting what might be his one chance to break the spell slip through his fingers. He prayed it was worth it.

"Don't be," he admitted. "It's been my privilege to love you."

"I loved you, too, didn't I?"

"Once upon a time," he agreed.

Merlin looked thoughtful. "I never did mean to hurt you."

Gwaine shook his head. "I know you didn't."

"How can I begin to make amends?" Merlin sighed.

Before Gwaine could offer her a list of things that he believed would work, Merlin was stretching up onto her toes and pressing her lips gently to his.

It wasn't a mind boggling kiss, as far as kisses went (and he and Merlin had shared some  _very_ impressive ones). It was a simple and quick peck on his mouth. Yet, Gwaine still felt his mind go blissfully blank and his face go pleasantly warm, as always happened when Merlin kissed him.

Something shifted in the air— Gwaine couldn't describe it, but he  _knew_ then that Merlin was Merlin again, and he was pulling her towards him again, ignoring her surprised squeak, and kissing her properly.

Eventually, though, they both needed to breathe, and they pulled away from each other. Merlin, Gwaine was pleased to see, was pink in the face and smiling like a loon. Her eyes were bright and shining and looking up at him like he'd hung the moon and  _she was back_ and  _oh, thank the gods_ and  _what did they do now?_

The brightness in Merlin's eyes was quickly overtaken by confusion as she looked around her, realizing they were in the middle of an empty hall in the castle.

"Where am I? What's happened?" Merlin demanded. "What am I  _wearing?_ "

She looked down.

" _What happened to my—"_

"You were under an enchantment," Gwaine interrupted. "A love spell."

Merlin didn't look happy with this news. "How big a fool did I make of myself?"

Gwaine couldn't help but shoot a pointed look at her chest. "A pretty big one, I'd say"

Merlin swatted his arm half-heartedly. She looked around her, seeing nobody and seemingly a bit confused. "What now?"

Gwaine huffed a sigh as he thought. Seeking to console Merlin a bit, he took his hands and placed them on her shoulders, rubbing gently. She appreciated the gesture and let him know of the fact with a grateful smile.

"Right. I'll go find Arthur and the others, let them know that you're back to normal. Any chance you can go find out who enchanted you?"

Gwaine was pleased to note a familiar sparkle enter Merlin's eyes at that query. It did not bode well for the person in question.

"Oh, yes. I most certainly can."

Gwaine was not keen to leave Merlin at the moment, not when he'd just gotten her back, but there was nothing else for it. The king needed to be informed that his court sorceress had returned (so to speak). He walked away from her, heart heavy, but no less determined because of it, and went to seek out Arthur on the training grounds.

Arthur's response at being told that he had kissed Merlin and un-enchanted her was a bit surprising ("Well it's about time!"), but his reaction afterwards was more expected: he called the other knights of the Round Table together in one of the council rooms. He asked a passing servant to let Merlin know where they were.

She came to them a few minutes later, looking both pleased with herself and a tad vindictive. At some point, Gwaine noted, she had taken the time to fix her chest, which pleased him more than he could say.

_She was back._

_Good._

"Merlin," Arthur announced, allowing himself a small smile as she closed the door behind her. "It's good to have you back."

Merlin positively beamed at him. "It's good to be back."

"Assuming that Gwaine has brought you up to speed as to what you've been up to these past few days—" Merlin flushed and nodded. "—then I don't suppose you've had a chance to figure out who's responsible for this whole mess?"

"Oh, yes." Merlin nodded again, this time more eagerly, as she took a seat. "It was Lady Lucinda. No doubt about that."

Arthur and the others had not been expecting this. Gwaine, in particular was surprised. He had been pitting all of his hatred on Humphrey these past few days, only to find out he had the wrong person. Well. No reason getting too worked up about it. It's not as though Humphrey wasn't a horrible person.

"Are you sure?" Arthur sputtered. "But why would Lucinda want to enchant you?"

"How should I know?" Merlin asked, exasperated. "My magic only stretches so far. Honestly, Arthur. Do I have to do everything around here?"

Finding out who had cursed her was the first thing she had done once the spell was broken (Well, alright, second thing, after fixing that unfortunate incident with her chest).

"Right," Arthur said with a sigh. "I suppose we'll have to call the Lady Lucinda to the throne room, then, and see if she has any defense for her actions."

As the group proceeded to the throne room, Arthur couldn't help but take stock of her former maidservant, pleased as he was to have her back. As a general rule, nobody ever noticed servants because it was their job to be  _unnoticed_.

Merlin had never had this ability.

It was partially because of how she looked: Merlin was too startling a combination of natural beauty (however much she denied it) and overall strangeness to not be noticed. Added in with her ever present grin and inability to keep her mouth shut when the situation called for it, Merlin was a well known face in a city where servants were rarely payed attention to.

Arthur had always payed attention to the little things with Merlin since she did not seem to have a subtle bone in her body.

Others had already started to fill up the throne room. Arthur took his customary seat at the throne, Gwen next to him, and Merlin standing up with them. In the resplendent dress she wore, she looked both out of character and born to the nobility. No hint of a smile was on her face as Lucinda was brought forward by the guards.

"Lady Lucinda," Arthur began, then paused. The allegations she was being charged with were strange, to say the least. Merlin had seemed sure that it was Lucinda, and he was inclined to trust her, but there was no telling how the lady would react when accused. "You have been brought forward under the charges of the unlawful use of magic."

The lady sputtered and all color drained from her face.

 _Shock,_ Gwaine wondered,  _or guilt?_

"I don't understand, your highness," she finally said. "What exactly am I being accused of doing?"

"According to our Court Sorceress, you are the one responsible for laying enchantments upon her. Do you deny these allegations?"

"Of course I deny them!" she responded. "Are you sure your Court Sorceress isn't mistaken?"

"I'm never mistaken," Merlin said as loftily as she could. She avoided meeting Arthur's gaze. Thankfully, he decided not to say anything for once, and Merlin decided that maybe this whole being-noble thing had some merit to it.

At this point, Lucinda was shifting nervously and eyeing the crowd surrounding her. None looked particularly sympathetic— Merlin had been well loved as a servant and healer's apprentice, and she was likely to be even more well loved now that she had more or less toppled the kingdom's archaic and strict rules on magic.

Finally, after several breathless moments for the court, Lucinda turned around and made a mad dash for the doors. Gwaine heard Arthur mutter to his wife, "Why do they always try to run?" as the guards seized the fleeing noblewoman.

"Why did you do it?" Merlin demanded. "What have I ever done to you? I've never even  _met_ you before!"

Lucinda, seeming to have decided that she had nothing to lose, let out a slightly hysterical laugh. " _You?_ This wasn't about  _you,_ child. This was about  _him!_ "

Lucinda pointed at Arthur, who raised a bored eyebrow and drawled, "Do tell."

"Your stupid trade agreements with my husband would have ruined things for me— all the money the castle would've lost! You were supposed to be distracted by your  _worthless_ sorceress until it was all said and done! Then Robert had to go and discover my plans! He always was a sniveling coward—"

"Enough," Arthur said sharply, clearly not in the mood for hearing the name of a good man slandered. He gestured for the guards to pull her away, looking sick and tired of the whole mess. "Take her to the dungeons. The council can decide what to do with her later. The rest of you are dismissed."

Her rantings and ravings were lost on those in the throne room as she was marched out the doors. The rest of the crowd, no doubt sensing that the show was ordered, hastened to obey their king's orders, leaving only Arthur, Gwen, Merlin, and the knights, who crowded around their royals

"Well, that was enlightening," Leon said drily.

Merlin, meanwhile, had turned to look rather guiltily at Arthur. "I'm sorry, Arthur."

"Sorry?" he asked.

"It's just— this was supposed to be a time for celebration. For you and Gwen, I mean. Instead you spent it worrying about me…"

"I wasn't worried about you, Merlin," he said with a snort. "You're surprisingly resilient for such a tiny thing." At her guilty look, his tone softened. "We have nine months to celebrate Gwen's pregnancy. And I much rather have you around to celebrate it  _with_ us."

"The queen is pregnant?!" Gwaine gasped. Next to Arthur, Gwen put her head in her hands, but was unable to hide her small smile as the knights all hastened to give their congratulations.

"We plan on waiting until the visiting delegations have left before making an official announcement," Arthur admitted. The knights didn't seem to have heard him, however, excited as they were.

Gwaine reached out and pulled Merlin to him, planting a kiss on her mouth as he did so. "You knew and didn't tell me?"

"It wasn't my secret to tell," Merlin laughed. "For once."

There was really no denying that, Gwaine found, so instead he just pulled her in for another kiss.

"Can you two please wait until I've left the room before you do that?" Arthur complained.

Merlin and Gwaine did what they did best.

They ignored him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So, there it is. Final chapter! I feel like the ending is a bit weak since I didn't plan it out as well as the other parts of this story, but hopefully you guys like it. I've had a lot of support for a de-aging story on FF.net, so I'll start planning that out. I'm still unsure if I'm gonna do a full length story or a long one-shot (depends if I can come up with a decent plot), but either way, it probably won't be out until around Christmas- I wanna take some time to give my other stories some love (you can read them if you'd like *wink-wink, nudge-nudge*).
> 
> Thanks for the support, guys!


End file.
